Brooklyn Man Charged with Series of Borough Burglaries

Cops followed Rodriguez to a Knickerbocker Avenue pawn shop, where he was taken into custody.

By Forum Staff

A 24-year-old Queens Village man could be 104 years old when he gets out of prison after a judge sentenced him to a total of 80 years in prison, for a robbery spree that began in July 2014.

Dayson Fernandez was convicted on eight counts of robbery following a jury trial in September 2016, and during a nine-day robbery spree in July 2014, he held up four livery drivers at gunpoint and took cash, jewelry and cell phones belonging to them.

District Attorney Brown depicted the defendant as one who preyed on hard working livery drivers and presented extreme danger to them. DA Brown said that Fernandez was “robbing them [the drivers] at gunpoint of hundreds of dollars, mobile phones and jewelry. Someone could have easily been killed or injured during the commission of these crimes. As such, the defendant represents himself to be a danger to society and the sentence meted out by the Court is more than warranted.”

Fernandez was convicted after a two-week jury trial of four counts of first-degree robbery and four counts of second-degree robbery. Queens Supreme Court Justice Gregory L. Lasak, presided at the trial and sentenced Fernandez to four determinate terms of 20 years in prison plus five years’ post release supervision on the first-degree robbery counts and four determinate terms of 10 years in prison plus five years’ post-release supervision on the second-degree robbery counts. The four first degree counts will run consecutive to each other for a total of 80 years in prison and the second degree counts will run concurrent to the first-degree counts.

According to trial testimony, Fernandez got into a livery cab and displayed a firearm, at 221 Street and 108 Avenue on July 19, 2014, shortly after noon. Fernandez told the driver “Don’t move or I’ll shoot.” He punched the victim repeatedly in the head with his fists choking him with the seatbelt before taking the driver’s wallet, which contained about $500 cash.

On July21, 2014, Fernandez jumped into another livery cab at 202 Street and Jamaica Avenue and pulled a gun on the driver. He ordered the victim to “give me everything” and fled the vehicle with approximately $70 in cash, a debit card, gold chain and the driver’s wallet. Fernandez robbed two separate livery drivers within the span of an hour on July 28, 2014. At 1:00 p.m., he got into a livery cab, pushed a gun against the driver’s side and searched his pockets. The defendant fled with about $300 in cash. An hour later, at 2:00 p.m., the defendant got into a second livery cab at 108th Avenue and 221st Street and gave the cabbie instructions on where to drive. Fernandez then pointed a gun at the driver’s side and fled with roughly $400 in cash.